Ateneo Blue Eagles

Main article: Ateneo de Manila University

The Ateneo Blue Eagles are the collegiate varsity teams of the Ateneo de Manila University that play in the University Athletic Association of the Philippines (UAAP), the premiere collegiate league in the Philippines. The collegiate women's varsity basketball team is called the Lady Eagles. The Ateneo collegiate men's varsity basketball team was not always called the Blue Eagles. It got the name Blue Eagles when Ateneo adopted the Eagle as its mascot in 1938. Prior to that, from 1914 it was known under different names. Beginning with UAAP Season 84 in May 2022, Ateneo de Manila University officially decided to unify student athletes and varsity teams under the "Blue Eagles" moniker, regardless of sport, gender, or age group.^[1][2][3][4] Ateneo has fifteen collegiate men's varsity teams that participate in fifteen sporting events of the University Athletic Association of the Philippines, its mother league. Twenty five years after playing their last game as Blue Eagles, the Board of Directors of the Ateneo Sports Hall of Fame review their playing years as Blue Eagles. Those who meet the criteria are inducted into the Ateneo Sports Hall of Fame.

Ateneo Blue Eagles

Ateneo de Manila University
League	UAAP
Joined	1978 (NCAA founding member – 1924)
Location	Katipunan Avenue, Loyola Heights, Quezon City
Team colors	Blue  and  White
Fight song	Blue Eagle the King
Women's team	Blue Eagles
Juniors' team	Blue Eagles
Seniors' general championships
NCAA: 1 1968–69 UAAP: 0

Team identity

Team monikers

When Ateneo started to participate in intercollegiate sports in 1914, its varsity basketball teams were simply referred to by the school community as the Ateneo Seniors and Ateneo Juniors. They were later dubbed the Blue and Whites by the sports press in the early 1920s when Ateneo joined sports leagues. When Ateneo adopted the Eagle as its mascot in 1938, the college team was given a new name: Blue Eagles. The Ateneo Blue Eagles are sometimes called the Hail Mary Quintet by the sports press. This moniker was given to the Blue Eagles in 1926 when sports press noticed that the team would pray the Hail Mary (as the school’s patroness is the Immaculate Conception) during game time-outs and would win by the skin of their teeth.^[5][6]

Ateneo is one of the four UAAP member schools that participate in all of the fifteen sporting events of the University Athletic Association of the Philippines. Since the Eagle is the mascot of all the varsity teams participating in these sporting events all of them are called Blue Eagles.^[7] However, the Guidon which is the school's official student publications have given them specific names to differentiate them when news about their games are reported. They are as follows:

Sport	Men	Women
Basketball	Blue Eagles	Lady Eagles
Football	Blue Booters	Lady Booters
Volleyball	Blue Spikers	Lady Eagles
Beach Volleyball	Blue Beach Spikers	Lady Beach Spikers
Baseball	Blue Batters	No Team
Softball	No team	Lady Batters
Badminton	Blue Shuttlers	Lady Shuttlers
Tennis	Blue Netters	Lady Netters
Table Tennis	Blue Paddlers	Lady Paddlers
Track & Field	Blue Tracksters	Lady Tracksters
Swimming	Blue Tankers	Lady Tankers
Fencing	Blue Fencers	Lady Fencers
Judo	Blue Judokas	Lady Judokas
Taekwondo	Blue Jins	Lady Jins
Chess	Blue Woodpushers	Lady Woodpushers

Mascot and colors

Ateneo has long been involved in intercollegiate sports dating back to 1914. It was a pioneer in Philippine collegiate sports. Ateneo was the first Philippine school to adopt a mascot, and was also the first school to field an organized cheering squad with cheerleaders which was later followed by another first when it introduced a Pep Band to augment the cheerleaders during games.^{[8][9][10][11]}

The choice of an eagle as school mascot holds iconic significance. Conferred with the title "the King", the Blue Eagle is a reference to the "high-flying" Ateneo varsity teams which would "swoop down on the foe and sweep up the fields away" as a dominating force in the field of sports. Furthermore, there is some mythological significance to the eagle as a symbol of power.^[10]

The school used to have live eagles as pets in the former Padre Faura campus and later on at the Grade School campus in Loyola Heights. A live eagle would lead the men's varsity basketball team at the start of a game in the NCAA as the team enters the basketball court for their warm-up with the school Band playing the fight song, "Blue Eagle – The King".^[10]

Blue and White, being the colors of the school's patroness, the Blessed Virgin Mary, were chosen as the school's colors. Thus blue and white are the colors of the uniforms of the varsity teams. Most of the school songs, yells and cheers have the words blue and white.

Athletic associations

Collegiate leagues

The Ateneo de Manila University is a member of the University Athletic Association of the Philippines, the premiere sports league in the country. It fields teams in all fifteen sporting events of the league. Ateneo was a founding member of the National Collegiate Athletic Association, which was established in 1924. It left the NCAA in 1978 due to the league-wide violence prevalent at the time, and then joined the UAAP in the same year.^{[12][better source needed]}

Other tournaments

Aside from the UAAP, the Ateneo Blue Eagles also participates during the UAAP preseason in other sports leagues/tournaments such as the Fil-Oil Flying V Preseason Cup, SMART City Hoops Summer Classic, Breakdown Basketball Invitationals, Philippine Collegiate Championship League (PCCL), Premier Volleyball League, Rizal Football Association (RIFA).^{[citation needed]}

Team sports

Basketball

Main article: Ateneo Blue Eagles basketball team

Volleyball

The Ateneo Volleyball Program enjoyed a modest success in the NCAA, having won a total of nine championships during a ten-year period from 1967 to 1976. The men's team had two titles and one from the women's, while the juniors team had won six titles. Ateneo dominated NCAA volleyball in the mid-1970s. In the UAAP, Ateneo has won five championships so far since transferring from the NCAA in 1978. These titles were won by the Lady Eagle Spikers in Season 76 (2013–14) and Season 77 (2014–15) and by the Blue Eagle Spikers in Season 77 (2014–15), Season 78 (2015–16) and Season 79 (2016–17), finally ending a title drought of more than 30 years in UAAP volleyball.

Championships

Blue Spikers
NCAA (2)	Season 51 (1975–76) Season 52 (1976–77)
UAAP (3)	Season 77 (2014–15) Season 78 (2015–16) Season 79 (2016–17)
Lady Eagles
NCAA (1)	Season 52 (1976–77)
UAAP (3)	Season 76 (2013–14) Season 77 (2014–15) Season 81 (2018–19)

Double Championships

Blue Spikers / Lady Eagles
NCAA Season (1)	Season 52 (1976–77)^[13]
UAAP Season (1)	Season 77 (2014–15)

UAAP Finals Appearances

Blue Eagles (5)	Season 76 (2013–14) Season 77 (2014–15) Season 78 (2015–16) Season 79 (2016–17) Season 80 (2017–18)
Lady Blue Eagles (6)	Season 74 (2011–12) Season 75 (2012–13) Season 76 (2013–14) Season 77 (2014–15) Season 78 (2015–16) Season 79 (2016–17) Season 81 (2018–19)

The Ateneo Blue Eagles Volleyball Team

The men's volleyball team were back-to-back champions in NCAA Seasons 51 and 52, and were 3-peat champions in UAAP Seasons 77 to 79. The Blue Eagles were also able to achieve a perfect season in the UAAP Season 79 men's volleyball tournament.^[14]

The Ateneo Lady Eagles Volleyball Team

Main article: Ateneo Lady Eagles volleyball team

Notable volleyball players

Men's Division

• Marck Jesus P. Espejo
• Ish Polvorosa

Women's Division

• Alyssa Valdez
• Bea De Leon
• Maddie Madayag
• Kat Tolentino
• Dennise Lazaro
• Jia Morado
• Amy Ahomiro
• Fille Cainglet
• Dzi Gervacio
• Gretchen Ho
• Jamenea Ferrer
• Deanna Wong
• Charo Soriano
• Pauline Gaston

Football

The Ateneo varsity football teams have won a total 19 championships, 9 in the NCAA and 10 in the UAAP. In the NCAA, the seniors have won 6 titles. The Blue Booters were the first to win a football championship in the NCAA when they won the title on the maiden season of the NCAA in 1924. They also won their first back-to-back (1953 and 1954) championship in the NCAA. In the UAAP, the seniors (men) have won 8 titles. The Blue Booters were three-peat champions after winning in Seasons 2003–04, 2004–05 and 2005–06, a record that still holds today. Football was introduced in the UAAP Juniors Division as a demonstration sport in season 70 (2007–08) and declared a regular sport in season 72 (2009–10)

Football Championships

Blue Booters NCAA Season (6) 1924–25 1941–42 1951–52 1953–54 1954–55 1967–68

Blue Booters UAAP Season (8) 1995–96 1998–99 2003–04 2004–05 2005–06 2012–13 2016–17 2018–19

Lady Blue Booters UAAP Season

Notable football players

Men's Division

• Virgilio "Baby" Dalupan
• Luis "Moro" Lorenzo
• Edgardo "Ed" Ocampo
• Jarvey Gayoso

Baseball

Baseball Championships

Blue Batters
NCAA Season (2)	1927–28 1965–66
UAAP Season (4)	2012–13 2013–14 2014–15 2016–17

Notable baseball players

Men's Division

• Ambrosio "Paddy" Padilla

Women's Division

• Laura Lehmann

Rankings

This is Ateneo's ranking in the team sports in the UAAP since 1986, the year the UAAP became an eight member-school league:

UAAP Season	Basketball		Football		Volleyball		Baseball	Softball
	Men's	Women's	Men's	Women's	Men's	Women's	Men's	Women's
49 (1986–87)				Unknown	Unknown	Unknown		Unknown
50 (1987–88)	1st	2nd	5th	Unknown	Unknown	Unknwon	5th	Unknown
51 (1988–89)	1st	Unknown	4th	Unknown	Unknown	Unknown	5th	Unknown
52 (1989–90)	4th	Unknown	2nd	Unknown	Unknown	Unknown	4th	Unknown
53 (1990–91)	3rd	Unknown	5th	Unknown	Unknown	Unknown	5th	Unknown
54 (1991–92)	5th	Unknown	4th	Unknown	Unknown	Unknown	5th	Unknown
55 (1992–93)	5th	Unknown	6th	Unknown	Unknown	Unknown	6th	Unknown
56 (1993–94)	6th	Unknown	7th	Unknown	8th	6th	6th	Unknown
57 (1994–95)	6th	Unknown	6th	Unknown	6th	5th	6th	Unknown
58 (1995–96)	7th	Unknown	1st	Unknown	8th	5th	6th	Unknown
59 (1996–97)	5th	7th	2nd	2nd	Did not join	5th	6th	5th
60 (1997–98)	6th	Unknown	2nd	Unknown	8th	Did not join	6th	Unknown
61 (1998–99)	6th	7th	1st	4th	8th	8th	6th	6th
62 (1999–00)	3rd	Unknown	2nd	Unknown	8th	8th	6th	Unknown
63 (2000–01)	3rd	Unknown	2nd	Unknown	8th	8th	6th	Unknown
64 (2001–02)	2nd	Unknown	3rd	Unknown	8th	6th	6th	Unknown
65 (2002–03)	1st	Unknown	2nd	Unknown	8th	6th	5th	Unknown
66 (2003–04)	2nd	Unknown	1st	Unknown	8th	6th	6th	Unknown
67 (2004–05)	2nd	2nd	1st	Unknown	8th	7th	4th	Unknown
68 (2005–06)	2nd	1st	1st	5th	8th	6th	3rd	6th
69 (2006–07)	2nd	3rd	4th	4th	5th	5th	4th	5th
70 (2007–08)	3rd	1st	2nd	4th	7th	4th	5th	6th
71(2008–09)	1st	6th	6th	4th	4th	5th	3rd	5th
72 (2009–10)	1st	6th	4th	5th	3rd	3rd	6th	5th
73 (2010–11)	1st	7th	6th	4th	6th	4th	4th	5th
74 (2011–12)	1st	5th	5th	5th	7th	2nd	2nd	5th
75 (2012–13)	1st	4th	1st	4th	6th	2nd	1st	6th
76 (2013–14)	5th	8th	7th	3rd	2nd	1st	1st	7th
77 (2014–15)	4th	5th	4th	3rd	1st	1st	1st	7th
78 (2015–16)	3rd	2nd	2nd	3rd	1st	2nd	2nd	7th
79 (2016–17)	2nd	6th	1st	3rd	1st	2nd	1st	7th
80 (2017–18)	1st	6th	3rd	4th	2nd	3rd	3rd	7th
81 (2018–19)	1st	6th	1st	5th	3rd	1st	2nd	7th
82 (2019–20)	1st	6th

Championships

Overall/General Championships
Ateneo has not won a UAAP General Championship in the seniors division since joining the UAAP in 1978. Its best finish was a third place in Season 75 (2012–13) and Season 79 (2016–17).

• Seniors:
  • NCAA (1) – 1968–69

3x3 Basketball Championships

• Blue Eagles: (Tournaments from 2017–18 until 2018–19 were classified as a Demonstration Sport)
  • UAAP (1) – 2018–19

Basketball Championships

• Blue Eagles:
  • NCAA (14) – 1928–29, 1931–32, 1932–33, 1933–34, 1937–38, 1941–42, 1953–54, 1954–55, 1957–58, 1958–59, 1961–62, 1969–70, 1975–76, 1976–77
  • UAAP (12) – 1987–88, 1988–89, 2002–03, 2008–09, 2009–10, 2010–11, 2011–12, 2012–13, 2017–18, 2018–19, 2019–20, 2022–23
• Lady Eagles:
  • UAAP (2) – 2005–06, 2007–08

Baseball Championships

• Blue Batters:
  • NCAA (2) – 1927–28, 1965–66
  • UAAP (4) – 2012–13, 2013–14, 2014–15, 2016–17

Football Championships

• Blue Booters:
  • NCAA (6) – 1924–25, 1941–42, 1951–52, 1953–54, 1954–55, 1967–68
  • UAAP (8) – 1995–96, 1998–99, 2003–04, 2004–05, 2005–06, 2012–13, 2016–17, 2018–19

Volleyball Championships

• Blue Spikers:
  • NCAA (2) – 1975–76, 1976–77
  • UAAP (3) – 2014–15, 2015–16, 2016–17
• Lady Spikers:
  • NCAA (1) – 1976–77
  • UAAP (3) – 2013–14, 2014–15, 2018–19

Badminton Championships

• Blue Shuttlers:
  • UAAP (6) – 1995–96, 1996–97, 2001–02, 2003–04, 2011–12, 2013–14
• Lady Shuttlers:
  • UAAP (5) – 2003–04, 2012–13, 2013–14, 2018–19, 2019–20

Lawn Tennis Championships

• Blue Netters:
  • NCAA (1) – 1939–40
  • UAAP (1) – 2000–01

Fencing Championships

• Lady Fencers:
  • UAAP (2) – 2006–07, 2018–19

Swimming Championships

• Blue Tankers:
  • UAAP (7) – 2012–13, 2014–15, 2015–16, 2016–17, 2017–18, 2018–19, 2019–20
• Lady Tankers:
  • UAAP (6) – 2008–09, 2014–15, 2015–16, 2017–18, 2018–19, 2019–20

Judo Championships

• Blue Judokas:
  • UAAP (8) – 1997–98, 2004–05, 2008–09, 2009–10, 2010–11, 2013–14, 2015–16, 2017–18

Athletics (track and field) Championships

• Blue Tracksters: (Tournaments from 1925–26 until 1952–53 consisted of events in relay and track and field)
  • NCAA (9) – 1925–56 (relay), 1934–35 (relay), 1949–50 (T/F), 1960–61, 1965–66, 1966–67, 1967–68, 1968–69, 1969–70

Sports traditions

The Ateneo has several traditions related to sports. Most of these traditions have been introduced by the American Jesuits after they took over the administration of Ateneo in 1912.

References

1. "It's official: Ateneo teams to be called 'Blue Eagles'". ABS-CBN News. May 5, 2022.
2. "All Ateneo varsity teams to be called 'Blue Eagles'". Inquirer. May 5, 2022.
3. "Ateneo unites all varsity teams under one Blue Eagles banner". SPIN.ph. May 5, 2022.
4. "All Ateneo student-athletes to be called Blue Eagles". Tiebreaker Times. May 5, 2022.
5. "Ateneo de Manila University". ateneo.edu.
6. "Five-peat". July 21, 2012.
7. "Blue Eagle flying high". The GUIDON.
8. Roman A. Cruz, Jr. "The Ateneo Story." Aegis. 1959
9. "Ateneo de Manila University".
10. . Archived from the original on December 14, 2010.
11. "Ateneo de Manila University".
12. History 2006–2007
13. "Bonfire blues". BusinessMirror. March 22, 2015. Retrieved August 25, 2021.
14. "Perfect Ateneo pulls off UAAP men's volley three-peat". May 6, 2017.